If you are heading north from Victoria don’t miss Strathcona Provincial Park situated in the centre of the central part of the island. It’s the largest park of Vancouver island and also the oldest protected area. You can access to the park from Courtenay where you’ll find very nice trails in the area called The Forbidden Plateau or either access from Campbell River. I took the second option because of the time but if possible explore both sides of the park, I’m sure it’s worthwhile. From Campbell River there’s a road that cuts along Buttle Lake district where you’ll come across a couple of campgrounds. I stayed at the furthest one from Campbell River and it’s called Ralph River Campground. It has first-come-first-served sites very well situated along the lake and the place is just gorgeous, wild and peaceful. One of the things it really surprised me is that every site has it’s own fireplace (very common in Canada but not in 
Spain!) which makes the stay even more splendid. Once there, you can hike different trails and look for wildlife like black bears. Also, the Park has a big deer population, a significant number of Roosvelt elks and rarely sighted white wolves and cougars. As for birds inhabiting the area, we find the gray jay, Steller’s jay, winter wren and kinglet, chestnut-backed chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch, , band-tailed pigeon and numerous blue grouse, ruffled grouse and a limited number of unique Vancouver Island white-tailed ptarmigan. A high percentage of the park is covered by Western red cedar, Douglas fir, grand fir, amabilis fir and western hemlock which makes it even more grandiose.
On the road to the Ralph River Campground I had a surprise when I saw a small black bear, possibly a cub, eating fruits on a tree. And the best of all is that I could take pictures of it! So, with this sighting I had more than enough for the rest of the stay at the park.
